Limited Review—One Week In

Enjoyed reading your review and candid observations. On the bouncy back end, might check tire pressure and make some minor adjustments. Not sure what shocks installed in the NON OR models-that said, A really good shock goes a long way with reducing this and keeping the wheels planted.

 

Congrats on the new truck. I am sure we will have plenty of real world reviews like yours instead of the reviews written by someone who drove it for an hour only. The a-b pillar vinyl is something Toyota has done for a while now. On the previous gens it was only the b pillar, I would rip them right off. Look better in my opinion. I think it’s a waste of money on Toyotas part, which trickles down to the consumer. As for the rear bounce, there have had some discussion about the rear box section. C-channel and boxed frames has been discussed since Toyota brought it out. I guess we will see if others report any bounce. Just like the rear suspension going to coils from leaf springs. As for the mpg, I want to say I am not surprised but I am. I remember a certain V6 TT that claimed great mpg. That didn’t turn out good. I am on my 4th tundra and plan to keep my 2020 for awhile.

 

Thanks for the real world review. I picked up my SR5 advanced OR today and my mirror decal is the same angle. It does look a bit funky but the other poster is right, it’s level. Planning to post as you did in about a week or so. Few things included in my build as part of packages I was unaware of (e.g. digital mirror, which is freakin awesome BTW), but I’ll cover in my own post. Thanks OP for the feedback

 

I've checked the TP for the rears and it's showing 35 PSI. On the TRD OR models, the rears are "tuned" Bilstein's. My SR5 TRD OR def has a ton of bounce when unloaded. It's much more noticeable than other full-size trucks with traditional leaf springs in the rear. I've half thought about sticking a GoPro underneath to see how the suspension is acting at 65 when it's at its worst.

I'll be curious of the TRD Pro's that have the Fox shocks w/ additional reservoir (I assume it'll have the same setup as previous years) will have the same "bounce" issue.

 

here is a better photo of my mirror.

 

Thanks, and didn't realize it was a TRD OR. Bilsteins are excellent shocks so this would eliminate that concern. Would be interesting to view the GoPro pictures.

 

First, congrats on the new truck! It's awesome getting a new rig and learning all about it.

Second, thank you for the close up pics and impressions. This is worth so much more than the press photos and generic reviews of "professionals" out there.

Third, I hope that truck lasts you forever and serves you well.

 

tire pressure is on spec. I am honestly disappointed by the ride quality, it really bounces and vibrates over bumps. Hmmm

 

thanks! Yeah I haven’t found many sources of real information. Let me know if you want to see anything else!

 

I'm a glutton for pics, especially close ups like you did on the headlight. That's the first pic I've seen that really shows any detail. Everything else is always just beauty shots catching the whole truck. Anyway, my point is that I'm not going to complain about any pics of the truck that show off the details.

One thing I haven't seen yet is the tail lights in action. How do they light up for tails, brakes, signals, reverse? Any pics showing these would be cool to see.

 

I don’t unsderstand the love of the bilsteins. When I was researching replacing the suspension on my Tacoma it was very clear the bilstein options were considered poor quality. Or of the lowest available. Not the worst but not what one would consider “good” shocks.

this being your first truck I think your just not used to a stiffer suspension designed to handle heavy loads. Cars and SUV’s are much softer

 

Have you owned trucks before? Just wondering what the baseline is

 

never have so this might be a new thing to get used to

 

yea rear end bouncing around on some surfaces is pretty normal for a truck. because of the lack of weight in the back. only ones i've never felt the bounce in are trucks with air suspension (thats guaranteed to fail, yes i'm looking at you dodge)


its the trade off to be able to haul some weight. make the rear end not bouncy when unloaded? cant haul much then.

 

Body on frame trucks will always ride worse than the unibody SUVs/Cars/Crossovers and such. It's the price of the utility, but improvements can be made. With your truck being a Limited I think it's on 20 inch wheels, right? If you drop to a smaller wheel that has more sidewall for the tire that's one of the single easiest ways to improve your ride.

 

Thanks for the best honest review so far with your new 22. Even though I've moved on to a 22 Frontier, I'm still interested on first hand comments on the new Tundra. I'm not into the front grille at all and had some issues with the rear tailgate design. Tailgate isn't so bad to me after seeing a few up close pics. Jury is still out on the front grille popularity. The main thing I'm curious about is the new rear suspension, engine response in combo with the new 10 speed tranny mapping. Your mpg's will improve once that new motor gets broken in. Keep us updated.

 

I have owned quite a few truck. Here my take. Manuf have tried to find the medium between a smooth ride and carrying a heavy load. The last 4 tundra I have owned all had a spongy suspension. All but one got aftermarket shocks. Spongy ride is gone but now it’s more sports car like. I will be driving down the highway and I will drive behind them to compare. When the truck in front goes over a bump, you can see how many times the suspension flexes up and down several times. In my truck, it’s more of a up and down and done. I have had several silverados and a Silverado SS. Different suspension all together but you could tell the difference between the Silverado being more of a soft ride than the SS that was more harsh and tuned, if you will, for a more sport truck feel. Also had 3 Trailblazer SS which came with air bags, junk by the way. Switched the air bags out for shocks and got, again, a more sports tuned suspension. I am beginning to think that the rear boxes frame has something to do with this. Toyota was made fun of because of the c-channel frame. Now they went boxed but kinda missed the payload rating from what I have seen in the comments and now looks like they have a more stiff suspension in the rear. Me personally, I prefer stiffer over the spongy suspension.

 

He was asking OP if he had. Look at who he quoted.

 

You can investigate installing the aftermarket AMP Powersteps. Lots of discussion in the 2.5 gen forum. You would want to check with them to make sure the control wiring hook up is defined for the 3rd gen.

Thanks for the info....I like the color. Would appreciate it if you post a picture of the stickers on the drivers side door jam including the load carrying capacity and the model code.

Cheers

 

He knows

 

Yeah I saw that. I was giving him my baseline from my experiences.

 

My 2016 F150 gets pretty loose in the rear. Feels like it could let go and spin out depending on how you hit the bumps. Theres no way this new Toyota could be worse than that.

The ride on my brother's previous gen Ram is much nicer than the F150.

 

Agree with your observations. All a trade off on what you expect and the mechanical design. Case in point: Borrowed my brother's Tundra when moving. Loaded it up and smooth ride to new house (100 Miles on Interstate). Wife -no comments to new home. Return to old home for next load and wife starts saying what the hell-rides pretty harsh. My fun ride is an Roush RS3 with full suspension package plus many additional modifications. Handles like a magnet stuck to the road-the price for this tuned suspension is I feel everything in steering feedback and the road surface. Fun car to run twisty roads and power out of a turn.

 

Bilsteins are good units. Clearly some better at higher dollar cost and many much worse.

 

Most reviewers just seem amazed that the truck comes with 300$ worth of mid grade shocks. Could be worse but still.

 

Thank you for the review and I hope you enjoy your Tundra for many years.

I find it interesting that they chose to use recorded engine sounds. Do the sounds stop when the audio is turned off or are they on all the time?

 

I was surprised by the vinyl too. On the platinum it was there and on the fender wells. Didn't feel or look premium at all. I wonder how many fixes they do on it just because of the awkward cut and placement of it.

 

I wouldn’t call $300 dollar shocks mid grade, more like low grade. Unless it’s per shock.

 

So please tell and share with us your experience and what would you install on the corners?